Coming into 2018, people looked at Sony’s two “Spider-Man” spin-off films and chuckled. How would the studio that so badly dropped the ball with Andrew Garfield’s two “Amazing Spider-Man” films actually make a superhero universe based on the character work without actually tying into the Marvel Cinematic Universe? A “Venom” movie without Peter Parker or Spider-Man? An animated film focusing on Miles Morales, featuring Spider-Ham? There’s no way those will work. Right?
Cut to now, “Venom” has eclipsed even the most optimistic of expectations and grossed nearly a billion dollars worldwide and ‘Into the Spider-Verse,’ has received the best reviews of any “Spider-Man” film and is looking like it could snag Sony an Oscar nomination. Things are looking up for Sony’s own cinematic universe. And in a new interview, producer Amy Pascal talks the future of the spin-off universe and which characters are likely to show up.
First, the big news seems to be that, due to the success of ‘Spider-Verse,’ Sony isn’t just developing one sequel, but two, with the second focusing on the Spider-Gwen character and featuring more female Spider-People. The untitled film, according to Vanity Fair, will focus on Gwen Stacy (introduced in the new film), as well as Silk and Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew.
Pascal said, “I think it’s great that we’re going to be able to tell movies about female superheroes in this realm, and in the live-action realm as well, because I believe that there are going to be characters that really resonate for people. They’re funny and quirky and different, and heroic in all kinds of different ways that only animation allows you to do.”
For those that aren’t familiar, Silk is a fairly new character in the Spider-Man mythos. Already being developed for a live-action standalone film, Silk is the alter-ego of Cindy Moon, a Korean-American hero that was a classmate of Peter Parker. When Parker was bitten by the radioactive spider, Moon was as well. However, her family noticed her new abilities and locked her away for decades. Think “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” meets Spider-Man.
READ MORE: Sony Working On ‘Spider-Man’ Spin-Off ‘Silk’ About A Korean-American Spider-Woman
Jessica Drew, aka Spider-Woman, isn’t your typical Spider-Person. Not bitten by a radioactive spider, Drew is a female spy that got her spider-y powers from a lab experiment gone wrong. She is more closely associated with the Avengers and SHIELD than the Spider-Man universe, but it would make sense, on the name alone, that she would be considered for this film.
The second bit of news that Pascal drops in the interview is perhaps the most surprising – Drew Goddard’s “Sinister Six” film, which would have spun-off from Garfield’s “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” is still a project the producer wants to see made, despite the overhaul of the universe and Peter Parker’s reboot in the MCU.u
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“I’m just waiting for Drew to be ready to direct it. I would do anything with Drew Goddard. I’m just waiting for him to tell me he wants to,” she said.
How this story would work without Spider-Man and without any MCU ties is anyone’s guess? The Sinister Six is the name of the group of villains that teams up to defeat Spider-Man. The members of the Six have changed over the years, but normally includes Sandman, Doc Ock, Vulture, etc…
Long story short, it appears that 2018 has been better than anyone could have expected for Sony’s Spider-Verse of characters, and it would appear that the future is looking very, very bright.